California, flush with cash, should resist 911 fee, water use tax

Last June, a McClatchy investigation found that 360,000 California residents were served by unsafe water systems with high levels of toxins, primarily in rural agricultural communities. Last November, as a massive wildfire threatened the rural town of Paradise in Northern California, some residents may have died because they never got warnings from an outdated emergency alert system.

Both these problems must be addressed. Luckily, the state government is so flush with revenue that new Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed 2019-20 budget both offers expanded services and hefty contributions to prepay unfunded pension liabilities. With the unsafe water systems, already-approved state bonds also may be able to help out.

Instead, Newsom wants to fund needed fixes with regressive new levies. He’s embraced a call for a first-ever tax on water consumption and wants to add a “911 fee” on phone bills to help pay for an improved emergency communications system.

While both levies would initially be small, that doesn’t make them defensible. Here’s hoping enough of Newsom’s fellow Democrats grasp the incongruity of one of the most heavily taxed states increasing taxes while running a substantial budget surplus. It’s not just a bad look. It’s a bad idea.